Mac mini or imac or wait?

Hi, I am now in a position financialy to buy a new mac!, It will be a family computer mainly used for internet/email & we will also use it to watch web video such as BBC iplayer SKYplayer etc as well as all our music & photos etc with a bit of Photoshop retouching, I already have a nice lcd screen and the latest wireless keyboard & mighty mouse (i am currently using a G4 powermac that is as upgraded as i think it can be), I'm just not sure about the mini as i will need to keep it for a good few years and am worried about the upgradeability of it i'm not sure if i would have this problem with a new imac?, Or will there be new macs coming very soon & maybe i should wait a bit?, Any advice would be great as once i've spent my money that's it for quite a while.

Cheers

igeoff said:

I already have a nice lcd screen and the latest wireless keyboard & mighty mouse (i am currently using a G4 powermac that is as upgraded as i think it can be), I'm just not sure about the mini as i will need to keep it for a good few years and am worried about the upgradeability of it i'm not sure if i would have this problem with a new imac?, Or will there be new macs coming very soon & maybe i should wait a bit?, Any advice would be great as once i've spent my money that's it for quite a while.

Cheers

Click to expand...

As far as getting a Mac Mini or an iMac...they're basically the same in terms of upgradability (minus the monitor on the iMac, and you can get faster CPU's with the iMac.).

Also...you mentioned having an LCD monitor, keyboard & mouse...so it would seem to make sense to get the "mini".

Plus there's the price (depending on your budget)...Mac Mini starts at $599...iMac starts at $1199.

Now if you were talking about getting a Mac Pro or a laptop...that would be a different story...but between a Mini or an iMac...in your situation my vote is for a mini.

As far as the future...who knows!

HTH,

- Nick

I vote iMac. Comes with more storage and a monitor, and you can get good deals on the refurbished from the Apple store... also that way, you still have a monitor and peripherals to keep the G4 up and running. Pigoo and I very rarely disagree, but there it is... he votes mini... i vote iMac, all the way!

DarkestRitual said:

I vote iMac. Pigoo and I very rarely disagree, but there it is... he votes mini... i vote iMac, all the way!

Click to expand...

No disagreement....we don't really even know what the "OP's" budget is...So I was going the "low cost" route...since they mentioned already having a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

But I agree (if the budget is not a problem)...get an iMac. Nice integrated package, great display...and keeps the G4 fully operational.

Plus with the iMac you get the little "goodies"...the sleek-slim aluminum keyboard, the iSight camera, and the little remote control gizmo!

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

No disagreement....we don't really even know what the "OP's" budget is...So I was going the "low cost" route...since they mentioned already having a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

But I agree (if the budget is not a problem)...get an iMac. Nice integrated package, great display...and keeps the G4 fully operational.

Plus with the iMac you get the little "goodies"...the sleek-slim aluminum keyboard, the iSight camera, and the little remote control gizmo!

- Nick

Click to expand...

Not to mention it doesn't take up all your desk space.

Haha, yea. Well, since the OP suggested an iMac, I figured that that wasn't out of his budget. It's a great machine and then he'd have two operational macs. One that can actually handle anything he may throw at it, and one that can be used for simple surfing and such if the iMac is being commandeered by another family member.

Boo, looks like they're out of stock on refurbished basic iMacs at the moment. Still though, 1199 for that base set up is a sweet deal.

Thanks everyone, Now there's rumours a new imac is comming next month!, Willgive it a few more weeks and see what happens.

Cheers

Good call. You can probably save a lot of money on the current iMac line too if you bought one of those refurbished after the new ones come out.